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Heroes & History #2
Hand of Vengeance
Cynwulf, shunned for being part Viking and part Saxon, lives beneath a beached Viking ship on the outskirts of the Anglo-Saxon community surrounding Tildric Hall. Life is hard enough for him as a half-breed misfit--until the fateful day his battleaxe is found in a dead man's skull. Charged with murder and facing the sword of Anglo-Saxon justice, Cynwulf's longings and dreams now hang in the balance--and so does his life.
The Heroes & History Series takes you on epic journeys through turbulent times in history. Douglas Bond gives flesh and blood to heroes as they face war, intrigue, betrayal, loss--and triumph.
The Heroes & History Series takes you on epic journeys through turbulent times in history. Douglas Bond gives flesh and blood to heroes as they face war, intrigue, betrayal, loss--and triumph.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2012
About the author
Douglas Bond
80 books234 followersDouglas Bond, author of more than thirty books--several now in Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, and Korean--is father of six, and grandfather of eleven--and counting--is Director for the Oxford Creative Writing Master Class and the Carolina Creative Writing Master Class, two-time Grace Award book finalist, adjunct instructor in Church history, recent advisory member to the national committee for Reformed University Fellowship, award-winning teacher, speaker at conferences, and leader of Church history tours in Europe.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 18, 2024
This book has one of the best written murder mysteries I’ve read.
July 28, 2015
I think this is my favorite book by Douglas Bond. I love that there is a strong female character who plays such an important role in the story.
June 3, 2019
There is a definite need for clean historical fiction with a clear Christian message. The blurb claims this book will “shine a light on the past” and the attractive cover definitely raised my hopes.
The plot of this rip roaring yarn is good and well structured and the pace and excitement are attractive. The falsely accused hero is aided by a monk called Godwine, a Brother Cadfael figure with a dash of Father Brown, and there is an attractive heroine and some believable, if violent, Anglo-Saxons. I find the author's style too close to that of “bodice-ripper” fiction at times for a book that claims to have a Christian message but I know I'm old fashioned. But whatever you think of the tone of his writing in this respect, Douglas Bond has certainly been let down by his editor who has allowed serious factual errors and faults of diction and language to get through which spoil the book. Cornmeal bread (p.56), for instance, would have been unknown in Anglo-Saxon England. This made me suspicious of one or two other things so I checked up Bloodwort.
As far as I can find out, Bloodwort does not grow in England (although it does grow in America) and does not have feathery leaves. The hero sails a longboat which is a craft carried by larger sailing vessels in the 18th and 19th centuries and was rowed by 8 to 10 men. I suspect there is confusion here with a Viking longship. A Chancel (p.180) is part of a church or Abbey building and you would therefore normally sit in it, not on it. The excited cries of “Cynwulf Hall!” at the end of the book (p.181) are puzzling too. Are they meant to be “Cynwulf Hail?” I also wonder why the Scottish word “laird” has been used for the local ruler. There is a missing word on p.170. A good editor would have spotted these errors and referred them back to the author.
“That were a troubled night were it not?” says the hero. This strikes me as very unnatural speech even for an Anglo-Saxon! Fortunately he drops this strained manner further on and a few pages later he asks, “Do you know who done it?” A good editor could have easily made the dialogue consistent and more believable. When writing a story set in the Anglo-Saxon period, the speech is a kind of translation since real Anglo-Saxon would obviously be unintelligible to us now. There is no point in not simply writing correct modern English, taking care to avoid anachronistic expressions. Gaffes like “reef hard on his steering oar” (p.33) should also have been removed.
Faulty diction and sloppy research, which even a non-specialist can spot, make anything else the book may have to say open to serious doubt. This is a pity as it is avoidable. If the publishers are keen to present a Christian message via this medium, they should provide Douglas Bond with a better editor.
The plot of this rip roaring yarn is good and well structured and the pace and excitement are attractive. The falsely accused hero is aided by a monk called Godwine, a Brother Cadfael figure with a dash of Father Brown, and there is an attractive heroine and some believable, if violent, Anglo-Saxons. I find the author's style too close to that of “bodice-ripper” fiction at times for a book that claims to have a Christian message but I know I'm old fashioned. But whatever you think of the tone of his writing in this respect, Douglas Bond has certainly been let down by his editor who has allowed serious factual errors and faults of diction and language to get through which spoil the book. Cornmeal bread (p.56), for instance, would have been unknown in Anglo-Saxon England. This made me suspicious of one or two other things so I checked up Bloodwort.
As far as I can find out, Bloodwort does not grow in England (although it does grow in America) and does not have feathery leaves. The hero sails a longboat which is a craft carried by larger sailing vessels in the 18th and 19th centuries and was rowed by 8 to 10 men. I suspect there is confusion here with a Viking longship. A Chancel (p.180) is part of a church or Abbey building and you would therefore normally sit in it, not on it. The excited cries of “Cynwulf Hall!” at the end of the book (p.181) are puzzling too. Are they meant to be “Cynwulf Hail?” I also wonder why the Scottish word “laird” has been used for the local ruler. There is a missing word on p.170. A good editor would have spotted these errors and referred them back to the author.
“That were a troubled night were it not?” says the hero. This strikes me as very unnatural speech even for an Anglo-Saxon! Fortunately he drops this strained manner further on and a few pages later he asks, “Do you know who done it?” A good editor could have easily made the dialogue consistent and more believable. When writing a story set in the Anglo-Saxon period, the speech is a kind of translation since real Anglo-Saxon would obviously be unintelligible to us now. There is no point in not simply writing correct modern English, taking care to avoid anachronistic expressions. Gaffes like “reef hard on his steering oar” (p.33) should also have been removed.
Faulty diction and sloppy research, which even a non-specialist can spot, make anything else the book may have to say open to serious doubt. This is a pity as it is avoidable. If the publishers are keen to present a Christian message via this medium, they should provide Douglas Bond with a better editor.
November 12, 2019
Oh yeah! So refreshing to read really, really well done his-fic, not to mention the excellent additions of suspense/intrigue, and bit of unusual romance. XD Douglas Bond at his best. Wait, does he have a best?... :P
August 14, 2023
Boring and fundamentally just made me go, ick.
October 29, 2014
The story of Cynwulf and Haeddi is wonderful. The mystery and historical connections are accurate, subtle, and compelling. Bond, in this book has one great problem that keeps me from loving the story. His language is halting and often awkward. He uses a beautiful vocabulary at times but his repetition of the ten cent words is obvious. It is difficult to read this book aloud because the style is rough and does not flow nicely from the tongue. Instead of using this book again for an elementary history class, I will stick to "Rolf and the Viking Bow" by Allen French.
November 27, 2012
It was a good setting, and the mystery was built up until the very end. The murders, yes, multiple ones, were unraveled nicely. Bond used Scripture well at the appropriate times. He was not preachy; it fit with the dialogue.
October 2, 2018
I love this book to bits! I've read it several times and will probably read it several more.
It has an intriguing murder mystery, history, and a sweet romance that is clean and fresh.
I would definitely recommend it!
It has an intriguing murder mystery, history, and a sweet romance that is clean and fresh.
I would definitely recommend it!
July 1, 2013
Typical Douglas Bond, tight, well written story, amusing, highly relatable characters, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns. I read almost the entire book in one sitting!
January 15, 2016
Douglas bond is one of my favorite authors and this book didn't disappoint! I can't wait to read The Thunderer now :D
July 7, 2016
More great historical fiction from Douglas Bond. Another family favorite!
January 19, 2014
A little cheesy, but well written with good suspense.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews